“Gradually but assuredly, the foundations of education are being destroyed in this country. Adequate attention – and commensurate resources – are not being committed to education at all levels. A huge percentage of our children have lost interest in education… Garbage in, garbage out, as they say! The quality of students that we prepare for JAMB examinations is reflective of the low performance witnessed in successive JAMB examinations. Can you imagine that the cut-off marks for admission into the universities this year is 150 marks over 400?”

Hurrah! Finally, finally, the controversy over the qualification age for admission into the country’s tertiary institutions of learning has been laid to rest! At the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB)’s stakeholders’ meeting held in Abuja on Tuesday, 8 July, 2025, the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, announced the new age limit as 16 years, down from the 18 years stipulated in the National Policy on Education. Alausa also stated that the Federal Government would henceforth frown at any admission conducted outside JAMB’s Central Admission Processing System (CAPS). Otherwise called “illegal admissions”, there were, at a time, thousands of such admissions clogging the university system and creating headaches for everyone – the authorities, JAMB, parents, students, and the offending institutions themselves. Every year at JAMB’s stakeholders meeting, the problem of illegal admissions, just as that of examination malpractice, has become a recurring decimal. Blackmail and threats, pressure and lobbying from those concerned have seen JAMB bending over backward now and again to find accommodation for the culprits, but rather than diminish, the problem appears to have remained a nagging headache for JAMB. Therefore, the Riot Acts read to those concerned by the Minister is, in my opinion, a right step in the right direction.

So also is the laying to rest of the age controversy, which raised its ugly head in a pronounced manner last year at the same JAMB stakeholders meeting in Abuja when the then Minister of Education, Tahir Mamman, directed the immediate implementation of the 18-year admission age policy, to murmurs and grumblings from the multitude of vice-chancellors, provosts, and rectors of the tertiary institutions present.The Minister’s insistence that anyone not comfortable with the law should approach the National Assembly for its amendment did not sway the gathering. Eventually, the Minister’s position became tenuous when one of the vice-chancellors reminded him that any immediate implementation of his directive would appear retroactive since candidates caught in the web of the age controversy were allowed to buy the form and sit for the examination, not mindful that anyone would come with a directive that would ambush them at the point of admission. Shifting the goalposts or bolting the stable door after the horse has bolted would appear antithetical to the tenets of democracy.

That was the argument that swayed the then Minister to agree to a compromise stylishly crafted by the JAMB Registrar, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, to have the implementation postponed by one year.  Interestingly, when the one year came this year, the hullabaloo that attended the controversy was even more deafening than that of the previous year! And those canvassing an age limit lower than 18 years have a solid ground on which to mount their challenge. Children mature more rapidly these days than in times past.  The rate of educational progression by children is also faster now than it was in generations past. Besides, the “stop-gaps”, so to say, that were in place when someone like me was growing up and attending school are no longer there; such as Modern School, Teacher Training College, Higher School Certificate (HSC) or the Sixth Form, are no longer in place. In fact, virtually every NCE and Polytechnic are now being converted into degree-awarding institutions. Rural-urban migration and the fact that many parents are working-class means they have to dump their children in school at younger ages than during our own time when the right hand, passed over one’s head, must touch the left ear before one could be deemed old enough to start primary school!

Therefore, they graduate very early these days from secondary school, many of them as young as 13, 14, and 15 years. And they do so with good results which qualify them for admission into tertiary institutions. So, what do we do? Keep such students at home for 2, 3, 4 or more years doing what? Often, we leap before we look. We announce the execution of policies before laying out plans for seamless implementation, meaning that we do not think through such policies; thus creating problems for everyone concerned. Another reason advanced for a lower admission age is that there are exceptional or gifted children whose journey through life should not be hampered by any age limit policy, but who should be allowed to move at their own pace, as is the case all over the world. But, again, JAMB’s attempt to make room for such students also ended in controversy! Under-age candidates who were allowed to write JAMB examinations for the purpose of finding out if they were precocious – but under the condition that the results would only be released and processed if it is confirmed that they were – .reneged!  The moment results were released and theirs were not – because they did not meet the threshold set for exceptional candidates – the cry became “he who writes an examination is entitled to getting the result”!

So, it is in the interest of everyone if the age controversy has now been laid to rest – finally. I only need to ask whether the relevant provisions of the law have or will be amended. The word of the Minister does not carry the force of law; neither can it by itself and on its own negate, amend or vary the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended). JAMB can now shift its focus on other issues, especially the fidelity of its examinations. The technical glitches or human errors that messed up a substantial part of its examination this year must not be allowed to repeat itself. The good news was that the Board rose up to the challenge and was on top of it, addressing all the issues raised in an open, honest, and transparent manner. Eventually, the problems were identified and solutions proffered. Despite efforts by disgruntled elements to cash-in on the sad episode, JAMB’s integrity remained unsoiled; especially as it spared no effort to uncover its own shortcomings, welcoming independent observers and experts from outside the Board to participate in finding solutions to identified loopholes.

For obvious reasons, JAMB may remain the cynosure of all eyes but the areas where we need to devote equal, if not greater attention are our primary and secondary schools and the tertiary institutions themselves. Gradually but assuredly, the foundations of education are being destroyed in this country. Adequate attention – and commensurate resources – are not being committed to education at all levels. A huge percentage of our children have lost interest in education. Standards have dipped in our schools. All manner of criminality and indecency have taken roots there. The environment of learning is no longer appealing. Staff welfare is appalling and the commitment to excellence across board has been thrown to the dogs. So, what quality of students are we throwing at WAEC, NECO, and JAMB? Is this not why examination malpractice is rampant all over the place; already attaining epidemic proportions that must be urgently tackled? Garbage in, garbage out, as they say! The quality of students that we prepare for JAMB examinations is reflective of the low performance witnessed in successive JAMB examinations. Can you imagine that the cut-off marks for admission into the universities this year is 150 marks over 400? Where are we headed?

We have been told that no society develops faster or better than the level and quality of its educational development; that being the case, why are we not committing quality resources to the education sector at all levels? The tertiary institutions that JAMB conducts admissions into are, themselves, run-down and decrepit, lacking everything that makes such citadel of learning tick elsewhere. Rundown facilities, decrepit infrastructure, no water, no light, shortage of hostel accommodation, crowded lecture halls, inadequate office and accommodation space for staff, moribund laboratories, archaic libraries; rain-beaten, battered and disgruntled lecturers and staff – just name it! How, then, can we compete with the world? How can we expect to actually make the much-needed advancement that we parrot on a daily basis, year-in, year-out?

If there is a place where a state of emergency should be declared, it is in the education sector – but will they?

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APC, ADC: SPOT THE DIFFERENCE

This vision is scary! – Professor Henri Oripeloye.

Old wine, new bottle!  – Afuw 7777.

This is very interesting and insightful! The difference between ADC and APC is exactly the difference between Phensic and APC analgesic! One is more of the same! It is pathetic that man easily suffers from amnesia in the political arena. Head or tail, the masses ain’t winning! Unfortunately, looting, not aluta, continua! – Dr. Wale Adeduro.

This is your best output that I have read in a long time! This is the first accurate examination of the political situation and permutations presently ongoing in Nigeria and the shape of things to come. – Moshe Valiant.

Wao! You got poetic with this one! I never knew you could write such captivating poetry that is at the same time prophetic! I don’t see any difference between the two political parties as they are both interested in capturing power, and not in rescuing the masses whose burden becomes increasingly heavier by the day! – Soga Bashola.